Towline fixture



Oct. 13, I964 TSUNAO lSl-HHARA TOWLINE FIXTURE Filed 001;. 18, 1963 5 6 k 3b Ll'g I25 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. TSUNAO ISHIHARA ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,152,571 Patented Oct. 13, 1964 3,152,571 TOWLINE FIXTURE Tsunao Ishihara, Higashinada-ku, Kohe-shi, Japan, assignor to Continental Oil Company, Ponca City, Okla, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 317,237 2 Claims. (Cl. 114-435) This invention relates to a towline fixture for a submersible tow to enable the towline extending from a mother vessel to be readily connected to said tow. More particularly the fixture comprises a hook member attached to the towline fixture body, a receiving rod provided in such manner that it can fit in said body and which is applied at the top end to the tip of said hook member, an endless lead rope, a lead rope guide which suspends said lead rope close to said hook member, rope fitting attached to said lead rope, and a catch provided on one end of the rope which fits in said hook member. The object of the invention is to enable binding and unbinding of a towline on the main body of a towline fixture to be remotely controlled simply and accurately.

The invention will be described with reference to an embodiment thereof for binding and unbinding of the towline of a submersible tow to be connected with a mother ship, shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a towline fixture embodying the present invention; and

FIGURES 2 and 3 are enlarged side elevational views of the above embodiment illustrating the procedure of towline fixing.

The numeral 1 indicates the hull of a tow for fitting of a towline, which is provided with a hook member 3 fixed facing downward in the circumference of the hull below the water line 2 thereof. Said hook member 3 is provided with a hole 3a piercing therethrough and forming a guide for the lead rope as will be mentioned later. Through said hole 3a an endless lead rope 4 runs, said lead rope being fixed about a check 1a on said hull 1, and having a rope fitting 5 attached to said rope 4 adapted to receive a ring.

Said hook member 3 has a channel or guiding means 3b in the interior of the lower end thereof for removable engagement with the receiving rod 6. The rod has stops 6a extending perpendicularly of said rod on either side of a fitting member 7 mounted on the hull 1 which rod 6 passes through.

The numeral 8 indicates an air motor, and a pinion 9 fixed to the tip of the driving shaft thereof is engaged with a rack 6c provided on the rear end of said receiving rod 6, in such manner that, by operating the air motor 8, the receiving rod 6 can be put out and into the hull 1 thereby to fit in or move from the channel 3b of said hook member 3. In the figures, 10 designates a compressed air storage chamber, and 11 designates a controlling valve provided on the conduit communicating said chamber and the air motor 8.

Since the fixing apparatus of the invention is constructed as above described, when towing is to be started, the rope fitting 5 attached to the lead rope 4 is engaged with an end ring 12 which is attached to an end of the towline so as to form interlocking units with said hook member 3, and then said lead rope 4 is let down. After the end ring 12 has moved downward below the hook member 3, the other end of the lead rope 4 is pulled up, when said end ring 12 is led by the lead rope 4 inserted through the hole 3a of the hook member 3, into a position halfway between the inside of the hook member 3 and the hull 1.

Thereupon, the air motor 8 is operated to project the receiving rod 6 by an interlocked motion of the pinion 9 and the rack 60, in such manner that the tip of said rod 6 fits into the channel 3b of the hook member 3, thereby enabling the receiving rod 6 to fill and close the open space between the lower free end of the hook member 3 and the hull 1. Thus said end ring 12 engages with the hook members 3 as shown in FIGURE 3, and the towline is finally fixed to the hull 1.

In order to remove the towline from the hull 1, the air motor 8 is operated in the direction reverse to the foregoing, and the receiving rod 6 is caused to recede into the hull 1 so as to open the inter space between the lower portion of the hook member 3 and the hull 1, thereby to release the end ring 12 and the hook member 3 from the engagement with each other.

The fitting and removing operation of the receiving rod 6 may be conducted by either an electric or an oil hydraulic motor, aside from the air motor as mentioned previously. Also, it may be performed manually by maneuvering the gear of the receiving rod 6 provided for the foregoing purpose. Or, it may further be conducted by radio control. Thus in said example, fixing and removal of the towline to or from the tow can be performed readily without necessity of any underwater work.

Furthermore, instead of providing the hook member 3 with a guide portion for elevation and lowering of the lead rope 4 as above described, it is possible to provide a lead rope guide member on the hull 1 aside from the hook member 3.

The towline fixture described above is provided with a receiving rod attached to the main body of the fixture in such manner that it can fit in or be removed therefrom and that it can be fitted to the tip of the hook member attached to said main body of the towline fixture, and the endless lead rope attached with the rope fitting is suspended through the lead rope guiding means provided in said hook member, and one end of the towline is equipped with an end ring to fit in the hook member. Thus after the end ring provided on one end of the towline has been engaged with said rope fitting, the endless lead rope is lowered, and the rope fitting is moved downward from the hook member, and then the other end of said lead rope is raised, thereby causing the end ring of the towline in engagement with the rope fitting to assume a position between said hook member and the main body of the towline fixture. Next, the receiving rod is moved to project beyond the main body of the towline fixture in such manner that the tip thereof is applied adjacent to the top of the hook member. This closes the space between the lower portion of the hook member and the main body of the towline fixture, whereby said towline and ring are fitted in the hook member, and enables said towline to be fixed on one end to said towline fixture.

The towline can be removed from the main body of the towline fixture by causing said receiving rod to recede into the main body of the towline fixture, thereby to separate itself from the tip of the hook member, which in turn separates the end ring attached to the one end of said towline from the hook member.

According to the invention, as described hereinbefore, the receiving rod can be extended into or removed from the hook member of the towline fixture adjacent to the tip of the hook member. The end ring or catch means attached to one end of the towline is fitted into said hook member, whereby the towline can be readily fixed to the main body of said towline fixture or can be removed therefrom without manual operation of the towline fitting of the main body of the towline fixture. Furthermore, the guide rope on the catch means of said towline is endless, and is suspended through the guide means provided on the hook member, and thus is capable of repetitive use. For that reason, the present invention is highly advantageous when employed to fix the towline of a submersible barge onto the tugboat, because it dispenses with the work of a diver usually required for that purpose. Also, the invention is preferably applicable to towline fitting where the fixture is in an inaccessible position.

Although the invention has been described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it should be clearly understood that it is merely illustrative and not restrictive, and numerous variations of the design are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A towline fixture comprising a hook member attached to the towline fixture body, a receiving rod provided in such manner that it can fit in said body and which is applied at the lower end to the tip of said hook member, an endless lead rope, a lead rope guide which suspends said lead rope close to said hook member, rope fitting attached to said lead rope, and a catch provided on one end of a towline which fits in said hook member.

4 2. A towline fixture adapted for the hull of a submersible tow comprising:

(a) a hook member attached to the said hull;

(b) a hole extending through the upper portion of said hook member adapted to receive a rope;

(c) an endless rope extending through said hole and communicating with a check mounted on said hull;

(d) a rope fitting attached :to said rope adapted to receive an end ring of a towline;

(e) a channel means in the portion of said hook member;

(f) a rod member adapted to removably extend into said channel;

(g) drive means for said rod member; and

(/2) control means for said drive means.

No references cited. 

1. A TOWLINE FIXTURE COMPRISING A HOOK MEMBER ATTACHED TO THE TOWLINE FIXTURE BODY, A RECEIVING ROD PROVIDED IN SUCH MANNER THAT IT CAN FIT IN SAID BODY AND WHICH IS APPLIED AT THE LOWER END TO THE TIP OF SAID HOOK MEMBER, AN ENDLESS LEAD ROPE, A LEAD ROPE GUIDE WHICH SUSPENDS SAID LEAD ROPE CLOSE TO SAID HOOK MEMBER, ROPE FITTING ATTACHED TO SAID LEAD ROPE, AND A CATCH PROVIDED ON ONE END OF A TOWLINE WHICH FITS IN SAID HOOK MEMBER. 